Take a moment to reflect on that number. Global stock markets lost nearly 15 times the total cryptocurrency market capitalization in the space of seven days.

The cryptocurrency sell off, which has seen a $200 bln drop in value over the past two weeks, is not to be taken lightly but the scale of the sell-off affecting mainstream stock markets reminds us that cryptocurrencies have a long way to go in the grand scheme of things.

The global stock market crash is being attributed to high bond yields in the US for 2017, which led to fears of looming interest rate hikes and inflation.

Clarity through the FUD

A number of factors have influenced the cryptocurrency correction over the past two weeks. A number of big banks have banned the use of credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, which naturally caused many of these buyers to exit the market to consolidate losses.

Coupled with an all-out crackdown from China and some misleading interpretations of the Indian government’s stance on cryptocurrencies has made the markets very uneasy. This has led to a spiral of selling, which seems to have cooled somewhat late on Tuesday, Feb. 6.